12/02/2010 @ 12:30PM

The 10 Best Employers In Retail

Employee satisfaction matters. That’s because employees–from a front-end cashier at
Costco Wholesale
to a GAP sales associate–are often a consumer’s first and only interaction with a brand. Yes, marketers plunk millions of dollars into mass-market advertising each year to generate sales, but a bad or so-so customer service encounter can cost them.

In retail, this is especially true. “We’ve all had that experience of going into a store and interacting with someone who’s truly happy to be there,” says Robert Hohman, CEO and founder of Glassdoor.com, an online site where employees can anonymously post employer review ratings.

With many Americans looking for seasonal work and consumers spending more time shopping in stores this month, Glassdoor.com compiled a list of the “Best Retailers to Work For” for Forbes. The survey, the three-year-old company’s first, ranked employers based on criteria such as “career opportunities,” “communication,” “compensation & benefits” and “employee morale.” Culled from current and employee feedback since June 2008, the study ranked brands that had at least 20 reviews or more over the last 30 months. Online retailer
Overstock.com
led the list, and the results are telling.

While employees are attracted to employers for different reasons–including on-site gyms, annual wine sales and free outdoor camping gear–a few must-haves are apparent. Retailers such as REI (No. 2),
Coach
(No. 5) and
Nordstrom
(No. 8) are well-liked among employees for providing benefits such as competitive pay and discounts.

Job recognition, too, matters, especially in a workplace setting where employees are constantly dealing with consumers–on good days and bad. Some, such as Nordstrom, do this by rewarding hard-working employees with a commission-based sales policy. Others, like edgy, punk/rock music clothier
Hot Topic
, give out monthly bonuses, cash and prize incentives. And still others, such as Maurices, a fashion retailer that sets up shop in small towns, groom talent through a management training program.

The happiest employees, it seems, are those who strongly identify with the brand’s corporate and work culture, work in an environment that allows for flexibility and work-life balance, and most of all, perceive a clear-cut sense of career advancement. Retail workers–many of whom may be temporary hires or college students–welcome mentoring, training and feedback on the job, as the experience is often a stepping stone to a future career, Hohman says. “The best-of-breed companies have a formalized review process. A large part of that has to do with how employees want to advance their careers, what they want to do next and how we can help you get there,” he says.

Leadership, too, is important. Overstock.com was this year’s winner. Its chairman and CEO, Patrick Byrne, also has the highest employee approval rating, 92%, of any retailer on this list. Other highly liked executives at the helm include Nordstrom’s Blake Nordstrom, with an approval rating of 86%, and
Saks
Fifth Avenue’s Steve Sadove (85%).